High-Speed Connector Assembly Automation

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Flexible & Fast Automated Connector Assembly

MS Automation was awarded Best in Show at The Assembly Show South 2023 for this fully automated machine that assembles two connectors every 1.6 seconds with the ability to accommodate over 100 connector variations.

Featuring 5 SCARA robots from Fanuc America Corporation, the system assembles, inspects, marks, and packs 5 million connectors per year.

 Challenge:  A global supplier of automotive electric components needed a custom machine capable of assembling nearly 5 million connectors annually.  Each 4-component connector required validation after every assembly step, detailed final dimensional inspection, and laser marking before final pack-out.  The system needed a compact footprint and simple changeout capabilities to accommodate over 100 connector variations.  

Solution: A servo ring indexer with two independent sets of 16 nests provided a fast, accurate, and flexible transport system.  Four vibratory bowl hopper/feeders, four SCARA robots, and quick-change EOAT allowed for rapid part feeding and assembly with automatic changeout capabilities.  A combination of tactile probes and 2D vision cameras validated assembly at each step, and fiber laser was employed for marking.  A fifth SCARA robot segregated rejects from finished product at final pack-out.  

Result: MS Automation met all system requirements, delivering a flexible and robust machine that assembled two finished connectors every 1.6 seconds at better than 90% efficiency – over 10% faster than the target cycle time of 1.8 seconds.  

Conclusion: With decades of experience and hundreds of successful advanced manufacturing systems delivered, consider partnering with MS Automation for your next automation project.